The present invention is in the technical field of weights for underwater diving.
For the purposes of this application, diving can be broken down into two general categories: diving with self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA) equipment and free diving. SCUBA divers rely on a self-contained air supply for prolonged underwater breathing. On a typical day of diving, SCUBA divers perform few dives (generally no more than 4) at a relatively consistent depth. Free divers on the other hand, take a breath on the surface of the water and dive underwater for as long as they are physically capable of holding their breath. While SCUBA divers have few dives at relatively consistent depths, free divers can perform hundreds of dives in a given day at a wide range of depths. The overwhelming majority of SCUBA divers and free divers wear wetsuits when in the water.
Divers strive to be neutrally buoyant at depth. When a user is diving with SCUBA diving gear, the user can adjust his or her buoyancy by adding and removing air to the user's buoyancy compensation device. Free divers do not utilize buoyancy compensation devices and must rely on their natural buoyancy, the buoyancy of their wetsuits and weights to achieve the required level of buoyancy necessary for any given diving conditions.
Wetsuits are inherently buoyant. Thicker wetsuits provide more buoyancy than thinner wetsuits. Thicker wetsuits require the use of more weight to counteract this buoyancy than thinner wetsuits. Wetsuits also compress at depth. As a diver dives deeper in the water, the water pressure compresses his or her wetsuit and he or she will no longer be as buoyant as in shallower dives. As a result, more weight is necessary for shallow dives than is necessary for deeper dives with an identical wetsuit. Because free divers dive in such a wide range of depths and in many locations in any given day, it is important for them to be able to easily add and remove weights to adjust to the conditions they are diving. Often times, divers will enter the water with too much weight or too little weight. This constitutes a safety hazard unless the diver returns to the boat or shore to remove his or her weight belt and adjust the weights accordingly until properly weighted.
Conventional diving weights are threaded through a weight belt worn around the user's midsection. To adjust the amount of weight, the user must first remove the weight belt before he or she can slide the weights on or off the weight belt. Doing so is a minor inconvenience when on shore or on a boat, but is very difficult to do while in the open water (which is where free-divers spend the majority of their dive days).
Prior art discloses diving weights that do not require the user to remove his or her weight belt to remove or attach diving weights.
The inventor performed a prior art search for quickly removable diving weights (ballasts) designed for wear on a standard weight belt for diving. The following U.S. patents of interest are:
U.S. Pat. No.:Issue Date:Inventor4,789,270Dec. 6, 1988Selisky2,970,448Feb. 7, 1961Di Julio et al.3,039,273Jun. 19, 1962Swindell, et al.3,192,723Jul. 6, 1965Apperson, et al.3,220,197Nov. 30, 1965Christiansen et al.3,263,432Aug. 2, 1966Maskell et al.3,648,324Mar. 14, 1972Stradella el al.3,808,824May 7, 1974Johnston et al.3,851,488Dec. 3, 1974Schuler4,848,965Jul. 18, 1989Peterson
Selisky (U.S. Pat. No. 4,789,270) teaches a one-piece diving weight designed for wear on a diving weight belt, where the belt is threaded through the weight and the weights cannot be added nor removed without removing the entire belt from the user's body. Selisky teaches an example of the most commonly-seen diving weight on the market.
Di Julio et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 2,970,448) teaches a one-piece rectangular diving weight designed for wear on a compressible diving weight belt, where the weight clamps the belt. The weights can be bolted together and may be removed without removing the entire belt from the user's body.
Swindell, et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 3,039,273) teaches a multi-piece diving weight designed for wear on a diving weight belt, where the user removes a yoke portion of the weight to release the weight from the diving belt. The user may remove the weight without removing the weight belt from his or her body.
Apperson, et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 3,192,723) teaches a one-piece diving weight designed for wear on a diving weight belt, with a U-shaped groove in the weight holding the weight in place on the belt. The user may remove the weight without removing the weight belt from his or her body.
Christiansen, et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 3,220,197) teaches a multi-piece diving weight designed for wear on a diving weight belt, where the user threads a standard diving weight belt through a channel and secures the weight on the belt with a holding pin. The user may remove the weight without removing the weight belt from his or her body.
Maskell, et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 3,263,432) teaches a multi-piece diving weight system comprising disc-shaped weights and a shoulder harness to attach the weights. The weights are held in place on the shoulder harness by threading the shoulder harness straps through the weights and securing the weights in place with a holding pin. The user may remove the weights without removing the harness from his or her body.
Stradella, et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 3,648,324) teaches a multi-piece diving weight system comprising a weight and a separate insert system, where the insert system functions as a quick release push button mechanism for attaching and removing the weight from a diving weight belt. The user may remove the weight system without removing the weight belt from his or her body.
Johnson, et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 3,808,824) teaches a multi-piece diving weight designed for wear on a diving weight belt comprising a weight with two embedded steel clips, the function of the clips to hold the weight on a diving weight belt. The user may remove the weight without removing the weight belt from his or her body.
Schuler (U.S. Pat. No. 3,851,488) teaches a multi-piece diving weight system comprising two separate weight-retaining cases, which are attached by a flexible attachment strap and clamp around a diving weight belt. The user may remove the weight system without removing the weight belt from his or her body.
Peterson (U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,965) teaches a multi-piece diving weight designed for wear on a diving weight belt comprising a lead body with an embedded steel hex nut to attach the weight to the users weight belt.
The inventor also performed a prior art search on the internet for one-piece diving weights (ballast) designed to be worn on a diving weight belt and removable without the necessity of removing the belt. The inventor found prior art including weights that may be removed from a diving weight belt without removing the belt. The prior art found includes weights designed to clip onto the user's diving gear with different attachment mechanisms (both moving and non-moving parts) and weights constructed of multiple-piece designs. The prior art found costs significantly more than the standard weight for diving exemplified by the Selisky patent (U.S. Pat. No. 4,789,270).
The inventor believes the present invention is an improvement over prior art because it may be produced for less than other diving weights on the market and consists of one molded piece of material. Furthermore, the inventor believes the present invention is less complex than the prior art and will be more desirable to the user. To attach the present invention to a weight belt, the user holds the weight at an angle roughly forty-five degrees off-center against his or her body and resting on top of a weight belt. Rotating the present invention roughly forty-five degrees back toward center and lightly pressing downward causes the invention to lock on to the weight belt, where it is held securely in place on the belt. Reversing this process allows the user to remove the present invention from a weight belt. The present invention is also an improvement over the prior art because it may be added and removed with one hand, whereas other inventions in the prior art require the use of both hands.